Connecticut College News

Author to discuss human rights issues of Guantanamo Bay

11/21/2012

Connecticut College will bring Guantanamo Bay interpreter-turned-author Mahvish Khan to campus for a lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 4:30 p.m. in Ernst Common Room of Blaustein Humanities Center. While she was in law school, Khan, the American-born daughter of Afghan immigrants, took dozens of trips to Guantanamo Bay to act as an interpreter for defense attorneys representing Pashto-speaking detainees. Of the detainees, she writes, "I came to believe that many, perhaps even most" were "innocent men who'd been swept up by mistake." Her experiences led her to write a book, "My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me." In her lecture at the College, titled "Still There: Guantanamo Bay Detainees and U.S. Human Rights," Khan will discuss the book and why the human rights issues present at Guantanamo Bay are still pertinent. "As with many big news stories, Guantanamo Bay's existence as a headline news item only lasted for a brief period of time, until other news became more pressing," said Scott McEver, the director of student engagement and leadership education at the College. "The lack of ongoing coverage by the media results, at least to some degree, in people being unaware of the ongoing issues at hand in Guantanamo Bay; in particular, the human rights issues. Mahvish will speak to the current relevance of these issues and how important it is not to forget or ignore them." The lecture is part of the Connecticut College Human Rights Lecture Series, which is made possible through the generosity of a Connecticut College family. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Office of Student Engagement and Leadership Education at 860-439-2108.